Welcome to Living in a Bookworld, which basically is a blog full of what else but books. Here, you can find and read reviews about books from the young adult, fiction and not, and sometimes the adult section. Also, every month is going to be dedicated to an author or two. You will be able to see the new books that come out every week as well. Let the book journey begin!

Thursday, 31 October 2013

BlurbSeventeen-year-old Taylor Gray moves to Sterling Island to get over her dead boyfriend. Mom’s cool with letting her crash on the couch, but Taylor needs to get a job before the lights are cut off again.When the tall, dark and crazy Raine Tsunami offers her a position at his thriving ghost tour business, she figures it’s an easy way to make some cash. Taylor isn’t afraid of ghosts--that crap is as fake as her mom’s boob job. She loves their adventures on the historic island, especially the secret places he shows her when the crowds go home. So what if all the ghost stories are just legends?

When Taylor comes face to face with a ghost and Raine crosses the line between friend and boyfriend--Taylor’s new life collides with her haunted past. If murdered people end up as ghosts, then that someone she was trying to forget is probably watching her.

ExcerptHalf
the streetlights are broken. Between tiny bursts of dingy light bulbs,
everything is black, black, black. This isn't what Sterling Island is supposed
to be about. The commercials call it a place for tourism and historical
richness. What a joke. The only thing I've seen for blocks is buildings and
parking lots and nothingness.

A
rock tumbles across the sidewalk in front of me."You
aren't from around here."

I
freeze. The voice came from my right. At least I think it did. It happened so
suddenly, and I was lost in a daydream that I hadn't really known what happened
until after I heard it. I squint to see under the bright street lamp overhead.
"So?" I shoot back, trying to sound sarcastic and so not intimidated.
Footsteps come from the darkness. He's walking down stairs, one at a time by
the sound of it, like he's placing both feet on each step before he takes the
next one. I still can't see him.

I
spit my gum on the ground, all gross and man-like. If I look unattractive then
I won't be kidnapped. But if he even tries, he'll be sorry when he gets a Ford
key in the eyeball. A shadow appears under the glow of the street light. It's
small and thin. It doesn't look like it belongs to a mass murderer. I breathe a
little easier.

"No
girl around here would visit The Face by herself."

"The
Face?" I ask. I chance a look around me and see nothing but buildings and
a parking lot with one car parked in it. Why hadn't I noticed that car before?

The
shadow takes a few steps closer and stops four feet away from me. He's about my
age, maybe a little older. There's something weird about him, and it's not just
because his clothes are so black it makes his head appear to be floating in the
darkness. He's really…sharp. His face is unreadable. His features are so sharp
and precise they almost scare me. His hair looks like it was just cut, all
sharp ended and straight.

"Turn
around," he says, pointing behind me.

I
know there’s nothing but a big gray building behind us. It's several stories
tall and has no windows. I have no idea why he tells me to turn around, but I
do. And I see it immediately. Dark gray on the gray wall, it's like a portrait
of a man from long ago. He has bushy hair and long sideburns and a stern look
on his face.

"Holy
shit," I say. The guy with his crisp shiny leather jacket and silky black
hair is suddenly right next to me. I watch him as he looks at the face on the
wall. He smirks.

"It's
always here," he says. "Though sometimes it moves."

"What,
like a movie?" I ask, realizing how stupid I sound.

"No,
its position on the wall. You see the upper left corner?" I look where
he's pointing. The wall there is shiny, not textured like the rest of the wall.
"Yeah."

"That's
where he first showed up. They sand blasted it off, and then he appeared over
there."

He points to the bottom of the wall to another shiny spot of
concrete."No
way," I say. The face on the wall is so realistic. It looks like someone
spray painted it with a can of primer and a stencil. "Who's doing
it?"

He
looks sideways at me, searching my eyes as if he can't possibly believe that I
don't know the legend of how this painting got on the wall. From this angle he
kind of looks like one of those models in fashion magazines. He's slightly too
thin for a guy, entirely too clean and although I can’t believe I’m going to
say it, chiseled. Chiseled like some kind of freaky serial killer. I bet he's
an asshole. He's probably making all of this up just to screw with me.

"No
one does it, it just is."

"So
it's like paranormal?" I snort.

"You
really aren't from around here."

I
pull out my ponytail and redo it. "Well that's a good thing I guess, since
people around here believe in shit that doesn't exist."

"It
would be terrible to go through life not believing in things that are right in
front of your eyes."

ReviewThe charactersOur main heroine is Taylor Gray,your average seventeen year old girl,who has been secretly in love with her best friend Brendan for a very long time but when he saw her at a party talking and flirting with another guy, he got jealous,confessed his true feelings to Taylor and kissed her.His girlfriend saw the whole thing and caused a scene.Brendan followed her to her car,got in and left the party and Taylor behind because he wanted to explain to her girlfriend what happened but she crashed the car into a tree.She was lucky and survived but Brendan died and his death is Taylor's fault or so she thinks.So,she leaves everything behind and goes to Sterling Island to live with her mother.She gets a new job at the local museum during the day and cleans the exhibits during the night something that attracts a lot of attention,since everyone on the island believes that the museum is haunted.Well,everyone except Taylor.She doesn't believe in ghosts,she never had.Then,one day she meets Raine Tsunami,the island's well-known ghost tour guide.His tours are legendary,people love and adore him and the money is pretty good I might add.So when Raine proposes to Taylor to work as his tour assistant,she agrees.It certainly pays better than being a waitress that men can take advantage.She quickly gets accepted by the tour crowd and the locals because of her bravery but when she sees a ghost,a real one right in front of her eyes and helps it cross over to wherever ghosts are supposed to go,she starts believing that because of Brendan's sudden death,he might be a ghost as well.There's also Raine.His father was a ghost tour guide as well.He grew up with no friends and everybody thought he was a freak because he has a unique gift or some might say a curse.He can see the dead.In Taylor,he sees himself.You see,because of the tour and their midnight ghost haunting,they quickly become friends who have a lot in common and that brings them closer.But Taylor can't be with Raine when she keeps thinking that Brendan might be angry at her and never forgive her.She needs to talk to him in order to get the closure she wants but that's technically impossible since he's dead....or maybe there's another way?VerdictPhantom Summer is a romantic paranormal YA story that will make you think twice before you say ghosts aren't real!We may lose our loved ones but they will always be with us.The perfect book for Halloween!

Rating: 4 stars!!

About Amy SparlingAmy Sparling is a native Texan with a fear of cold weather and a coffee addiction that probably needs an intervention. She loves books, sarcasm, nail polish and paid holidays. She lives near the beach with her daughter, one spoiled rotten puppy and a cat who is most likely plotting to take over the world. Amy Sparling is a pen name for YA author Cheyanne Young.